


Is He Safe?

by pikabot



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, futurevision
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-08
Updated: 2015-07-08
Packaged: 2018-04-08 08:43:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4298205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pikabot/pseuds/pikabot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the aftermath of the events of The Return and Jailbreak, there's only one thing Greg wants to ask Garnet: is his son safe with the Crystal Gems?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Is He Safe?

**Author's Note:**

> This piece contains spoilers for Jailbreak and, to a much much much lesser extent (to the point where it's really not worth mentioning) We Need To Talk.

Greg had been to the beach house more times than he could count, but slipping up to it in the middle of the night still made him feel like an intruder. He'd even left the van behind at the edge of the sand, not wanting its engine to attract too much attention. If Steven heard him driving up he'd come running, and that wasn't what Greg was here for.

He slicked his hair back unconsciously, a nervous habit, as he walked up the front steps. “Hey,” he muttered under his breath. “Nice night, huh? I was just in the neighbourhood, mind if I come in?”

The words sounded just as fake in his ears as he was sure they would sound to the Gems, but he was out of time to come up with better ones. Sighing, he reached out to knock on the screen door.

It swung inwards before he could touch it. Suddenly, Garnet was standing in the doorway, bent forward to fit her head through. It struck him again just how big she was – not quite as tall as Rose, but still a full head or two taller than him. She looked down at him, face hidden behind her impassive visor.

“Hey, Garnet,” he said weakly.

“Greg,” she said.

“Is...Steven awake?” he asked, grasping vainly for a conversational thread.

“No. And the others are away on missions. Come in.”

She stepped backwards into the living room, and Greg followed her in. The house was dark, with a clear night's bold shadows, and quiet – except that from the second floor, he could faintly hear Steven snoring. That black eye didn't seem to be disturbing his sleep much, at least. Sitting on the kitchen counter was a mug of hot cocoa in the WORLD'S #5 DAD mug Steven had bought for him at Smiley's boardwalk.

“I guess you knew I was coming, huh.”

“Yep.”

Greg picked up the mug and blew on it. “Futurevision, right? Rose told me about that a couple of times.”

“No. Didn't need it. I heard the van backfiring as you drove up.”

“Oh.” Greg felt a little embarrassed. He'd been meaning to get that looked into, but there just never seemed to be the time. “But you _do_ have futurevision, right?”

“Correct.”

“Then, I guess I have something to ask you.”

“I'm listening.” She sat on the couch, legs crossed, leaning forwards, and although her face was hiding behind the same reflective visor it always was, he felt sure that she _was_ listening. He swallowed his nervousness, and asked:

“Is Steven safe with you guys?”

Garnet didn't respond, as if waiting for more out of him, so he kept going. “I mean, I've always been kind of nervous about him doing magic gem stuff, but it used to be a lot less...I don't know, serious? But then there was the thing with the water gem, and now he's got that nasty shiner, and I'm worried that it's going to just keep getting worse. So, I just have to ask...are you really able to keep him safe?”

Garnet's answer was a single syllable. “No.” Greg had started taking an anxious sip of cocoa, and he nearly spilled it all over his shirt.

“What do you mean,” he demanded, his voice raising, but Garnet pointed one finger upwards, towards Steven's loft, reminding him to be quiet. He tried again, in a strangled voice. “What do you mean he's not safe? Why are you doing magic stuff if it's not safe!?”

“Because there is no 'safe'. No matter what I do, there are so many ways a little boy can get hurt.”

“But you can see the future! You can keep him out of trouble, right?”

“It doesn't work like that.”

“Then how does it work?”

“You wouldn't understand,” she said. She was edging away now, almost uncomfortable.

“Try me!” Greg insisted. 

Garnet sat still for a moment, as if considering. Then she uncrossed her legs, sat up straight, and removed her visor, revealing her face, with its third eye perched above the other two. All three eyes fixed on Greg, who tried his best not to startle at the sight, and it seemed as though she could see right through him.

“I look into the eddies of the near future, and I see the infinite ripples of existence. Endless universes, endless Stevens, endless outcomes. Sometimes, he lives. So many times, he dies. I do what I can to shift the course of the river the way I want, but I can only move it a little, and there are so many possibilities to account for...”

“You're right,” he admitted. “I don't understand.”

“And sometimes,” she continued, “I can't change the future, even once I see it. For example...”

She trailed off, as if thinking better of what she had to say. Greg got the feeling that he should let it be, but he just couldn't help himself. He had to know.

“For example?”

Garnet seemed to struggle for a moment more, and then spoke again: “For example, if I could have, I would have kept Steven from being born.”

Greg's whole body went cold. “You  _what_ ?” he said, just barely restraining himself from shouting. He shot to his feet, ready to give her a mouthful, but he'd forgotten he was holding a hot drink. His outrage was interrupted as it spilled over onto his bare hand. He managed to avoid screaming, but he dropped the mug onto the wooden floor and ran to the sink, running cold water on it.

Behind him, he could see Garnet, visor back in place, efficiently cleaning up after the mess he'd made. “You have to understand,” she said as she worked, “this was before we met Steven. All I could see was losing Rose, and we would have done anything to stop that. But by the time I saw Steven coming, I'd already set him in motion.”

The pain was already starting to fade, taking Greg's outrage with it. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“I pushed you and Rose together. I thought you could make her happy, so I used my powers to give your relationship a...boost, here and there. And it worked. You made her very, very happy. So happy, she started to think about what it would be like to be a human mother...”

Greg turned off the tap and walked back to the couch. Garnet had already cleaned up the cocoa spill, and was sitting back down on the couch.  _Did she give me that cocoa so it would burn me just then?_ He wondered. Garnet's implacable mask betrayed nothing.

“If you'd...if you'd wanted to, _could_ you have stopped Steven being born?”

“Maybe,” Garnet admitted. “But in all the universes where I succeeded, Rose was unhappier than ever. That was _not_ an option.”

Greg looked to the floor. The sick feeling that always crept in wherever Steven was out of his reach was back again. He'd known going in that his kid was going to be special, that his life would be weird, that he might get put in danger...but that never made it any easier to stand back and watch, just praying each day that the Gems would manage to bring him home alive. They always had so far, but some day...

A hand on his shoulder interrupted his thoughts. Without him noticing, Garnet had gotten up and crossed the room, and was now standing over him.

“Greg,” she said. “I wish I could promise to keep Steven out of danger, but I can't. But I do promise you that whatever wants to get to him, will need to get past me first. That's the best I can do.”

Greg sighed. “I guess it'll have to do.”

★


End file.
